In sports therapy, an ice bath, or sometimes cold-water immersion, Cold plunge or cold therapy, is a training regimen usually following a period of intense exercise[ in which a substantial part of a human body is immersed in a bathing of ice or ice-water for a limited duration.][Note: This article only refers to the use of ice baths in sports therapy and not to their use in cold exposure programs like the Wim Hof Method where ice baths are of different temperatures and are used differently.]
The method is controversial,[Christine Kearney, 20 February 2012, Medical News Today, Muscle Soreness – Is Cold Water Immersion Effective For Treatment?, Retrieved October 5, 2016, "...a cold bath may be an effective way to prevent and help sore muscles. ...difficult for researchers to determine exactly how much cold water immersion helps sore muscles, ...The researchers say it is necessary for more studies to be done in order to be sure of the effectiveness of cold water baths in treating muscle soreness. ..."]
A 2025 article published in The Washington Post which cites studies researching whether or not cold plunges are beneficial or not adds to growing scientific skepticism about cold plunges, particularly following strength training. Researchers found that immersing limbs in near-freezing water after weightlifting significantly reduced blood flow to the muscles, limiting their ability to absorb protein and recover. This effect could blunt muscle growth and undermine the benefits of resistance training. While cold plunges are often promoted for recovery and mental toughness, the new evidence suggests they may do more harm than good when used immediately after workouts.
Techniques
Bath
It is done by standing or sitting in a bucket or bath of icy water. One writer advised: "don't overdo it."[ Wearing rubberized "dive booties" on the feet (to protect toes) as well as rubber briefs to warm the midsection has been recommended. Champion weightlifter Karyn Marshall, who won the world women's weightlifting championship in 1987,]
One report suggested that if ice water is circulating, it is even colder such that the water will be colder than measured by a thermometer, and that athletes should avoid overexposure.
Ice bath only versus contrast bath therapy
Some athletes use a technique known as contrast water therapy or contrast bath therapy, in which cold water and warmer water are alternated.[ One method of doing this was to have two tubs––one cold (10–15 degrees Celsius) and another hot (37–40 degrees Celsius)––and to do one minute in the cold tub followed by two minutes in a hot tub, and to repeat this procedure three times.][
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Temperature and timing
The temperature can vary, but is usually in the range of 50–59 degrees Fahrenheit[ or between 10 and 15 degrees Celsius.][ or rubberized coverings around their midsection while immersed. Some drink a warm beverage such as tea.][ One report suggested that "ten minutes immersed in 15 degree Celsius water" was sufficient.][
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Accounts vary about how long to be immersed and how often to do them. One adviser suggested that an athlete should take ten two-minute ice bath treatments over a two-week period.[ Another suggested that immersion run from five to ten minutes, and sometimes to twenty minutes.][ There were no sources advocating being immersed for longer than twenty minutes.
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Ice baths versus cold baths
Several sources suggest that cold baths () were preferable to ice baths. Physiotherapist Tony Wilson of the University of Southampton said that extremely cold temperatures were unnecessary and a "cold bath" would be just as effective as an ice bath.[ Another agreed that a mere cold bath is preferable to ice baths which are "unnecessary."][ A third report suggested that cool water () was just as good as water at a lower temperature () and that eight to ten minutes should be sufficient time, and warned against exceeding ten minutes.][
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Effectiveness
After exercise, there is some evidence that taking an ice bath may reduce delayed onset muscle soreness and perceptions of fatigue, but no good evidence of any other benefit.
A 2024 meta-analysis of controlled trials concluded that cold water immersion immediately following resistance training may blunt the ensuing muscle hypertrophy, although the authors cautioned that their conclusion was uncertain due to the relatively fair to poor quality of the underlying studies.
Safety
There is agreement in the medical and scientific communities that ice baths can pose serious risks to health. Risks include hypothermia,[ shock][ and the possibility of sudden cardiac death.]
History
Marathon running Paula Radcliffe won the 10,000m event at the 2002 European championships and attributed her victory to the use of ice baths.[ After the Radcliffe comment, the technique has grown in popularity.][ It is gaining in popularity among athletes,][ such that some athletes "swear by it"][
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It has been used by athletes such as A. J. Soares[ and Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps][ tennis,][August 14, 2014, Campbell North, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, People around the country have ALS challenge down cold, Retrieved Aug. 18, 2014, "...Those who forgo the ice bath are asked to donate to an ALS organization..."][Bill Saporito, Aug. 18, 2014, Time magazine, How the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge Could Change Fundraising Forever, Retrieved Aug. 18, 2014, "...Never mind the ice bath; you could have just written the check...."]
There are indications that ice baths may be gaining popularity with groups outside sports, such as dance. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that some Radio City The Rockettes, a precision dance company performing in New York City, use ice baths after a long day of performing as a way to "unwind" and cope with "aches and pains."
Explorer and athlete Fiann Paul is known for using ice baths as part of his training routine.
Ice baths are a part of a broader phenomenon known as cryotherapy—the Greek language word cryo (κρυο) means cold—which describes a variety of treatments when cold temperatures are used therapeutically. Cryotherapy includes procedures where a person is placed in a room with "cold, dry air at temperatures as low as −135 °C" for short periods of time, and which has been used in hospitals in Poland as well as a center in London to treat not only muscular ailments, but psychological problems such as depression.[ Basketball player Manny Harris reportedly used a Cryon-X machine featuring extreme low temperatures around minus 166 degrees Fahrenheit, but used it with wet socks resulting in a serious freezer burn.]
Occasionally ice baths have been an ill-advised treatment of fever in young children, but that doctors were counseled not to use this technique because of the risk of hypothermia.[
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In addition, there have been instances of ice bathing as an extreme bodily test by persons vying for an endurance record, such as Netherlands Iceman Wim Hof,
Ice baths began to become extremely popular after being discussed extensively by Joe Rogan and his universe of scientist and comedians such as Dr. Andrew Huberman (Stanford) and Aubury Marcus (Onnit).
Ice bath vs. cryotherapy
Ice baths, an activity within the practice of cold therapy, has been predominately utilised for multiple decades for therapeutic purposes, typically for exercise recovery for athletes, and more recently for perceived mental health benefits, such as the alleviation of symptoms of mental health problems such as depression. Cryotherapy can be tracked "as far back as the Egyptians in 3000 BCE" as a wound treatment
Cryotherapy can be dated back to ancient Greece, its first mention in an ancient Egyptian medical text Edwin Smith Papyrus that is believed to date to around 3500 BCE,
The main medical treatments that Ancient Greeks employed the use of cold-water immersion for were fever, as the cold was thought to counteract the body's heat,
See also
